Alpha Skyhawk
Windjammers Wonder
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2012
- Posts
- 1,383
I've been using the Model 2 Emulator and the Supermodel Model 3 emulator a lot lately, and I've been enjoying a lot of the great Sega arcade games of the 90s.
Daytona USA was my inspiration for delving deep into the Model 2 and Model 3 catalogs, inspired by the recent Daytona USA 3 announcement. It's still a great game! The art direction makes the Model 2 graphics hold up to this day, despite it being early 3D. It was truly ahead of its time. And, of course, the gameplay. It's awesome. That really goes without saying.
One of my favorite offbeat fighting games of the 90s was Fighting Vipers. I loved the Saturn version when I got it right before Thanksgiving in 1999. (Bargain bin prices done right.) Even though it's disappointing the Model 2 version of the game doesn't have the gameplay tweaks of the remix option in the Saturn version or any of the Saturn extras, it's still fun to play on the Model 2 Emulator. The music holds up in this version, too. I'll have to see if there are any comparison videos on Youtube about the arcade vs. the Saturn versions of the soundtrack.
Sky Target was a game that I didn't play back in the day, but I like it these days. It's kind of a spiritual successor to Afterburner. It has boss battles against big aerial vehicles, though. It's a blast! It's nice to play this instead of the PC port I had to import from Japan a few years ago, too.
One thing to note about the Model 2 Emulator is that, while it supports Xinput, it doesn't really do deadzones. You can use Durazno with the Model 2 emulator, though. It's a program that lets you modify the inputs on your Xbox 360 controller for specific games. It spits out an INI and a DLL that you put in the directory of your game/emulator. It's a godsend for Daytona USA, and its antideadzone setting is a necessity for Sky Target. There's a bug with Sky Target that makes you fly in the wrong direction if you move your analog stick too far, and antideadzone fixes it.
On the Model 3 end, there's Daytona USA 2. I've got the biggest crush on Daytona USA 2. But just Daytona USA 2. I don't like the Power Edition. PE is like the evil twin that pretends she's her sister, acts like a jerk, and gets you to break up with her sister because you think she's her.
Emergency Call Ambulance is another one I never played back in the day, but I always wanted to play it. I remember reading about it in Game Informer years ago. Today was my first day playing it, and I enjoy it. It's not great, but I like playing it. I wasn't expecting it to be so much like an action movie car chase simulator. I was expecting Ferrari F355 Challenge meets Crazy Taxi.
There's also Fighting Vipers 2. I don't like it as much as the first game, but it's a welcome sequel. The most disappointing thing to me is that they completely ditch the thrash metal from the first game in favor of techno/dance stuff. Not every song in the first game was thrash, but there was a lot of it. I do like the gameplay tweaks for the most part, and it looks gorgeous, but I'm disappointed they didn't bring over the 3D movement function from Virtua Fighter 3/Fighters Megamix.
There's a lot more I can say about the Model 2 and 3, and I probably will say lots, but I want to have a good discussion about the games and the hardware, too.
Daytona USA was my inspiration for delving deep into the Model 2 and Model 3 catalogs, inspired by the recent Daytona USA 3 announcement. It's still a great game! The art direction makes the Model 2 graphics hold up to this day, despite it being early 3D. It was truly ahead of its time. And, of course, the gameplay. It's awesome. That really goes without saying.
One of my favorite offbeat fighting games of the 90s was Fighting Vipers. I loved the Saturn version when I got it right before Thanksgiving in 1999. (Bargain bin prices done right.) Even though it's disappointing the Model 2 version of the game doesn't have the gameplay tweaks of the remix option in the Saturn version or any of the Saturn extras, it's still fun to play on the Model 2 Emulator. The music holds up in this version, too. I'll have to see if there are any comparison videos on Youtube about the arcade vs. the Saturn versions of the soundtrack.
Sky Target was a game that I didn't play back in the day, but I like it these days. It's kind of a spiritual successor to Afterburner. It has boss battles against big aerial vehicles, though. It's a blast! It's nice to play this instead of the PC port I had to import from Japan a few years ago, too.
One thing to note about the Model 2 Emulator is that, while it supports Xinput, it doesn't really do deadzones. You can use Durazno with the Model 2 emulator, though. It's a program that lets you modify the inputs on your Xbox 360 controller for specific games. It spits out an INI and a DLL that you put in the directory of your game/emulator. It's a godsend for Daytona USA, and its antideadzone setting is a necessity for Sky Target. There's a bug with Sky Target that makes you fly in the wrong direction if you move your analog stick too far, and antideadzone fixes it.
On the Model 3 end, there's Daytona USA 2. I've got the biggest crush on Daytona USA 2. But just Daytona USA 2. I don't like the Power Edition. PE is like the evil twin that pretends she's her sister, acts like a jerk, and gets you to break up with her sister because you think she's her.
Emergency Call Ambulance is another one I never played back in the day, but I always wanted to play it. I remember reading about it in Game Informer years ago. Today was my first day playing it, and I enjoy it. It's not great, but I like playing it. I wasn't expecting it to be so much like an action movie car chase simulator. I was expecting Ferrari F355 Challenge meets Crazy Taxi.
There's also Fighting Vipers 2. I don't like it as much as the first game, but it's a welcome sequel. The most disappointing thing to me is that they completely ditch the thrash metal from the first game in favor of techno/dance stuff. Not every song in the first game was thrash, but there was a lot of it. I do like the gameplay tweaks for the most part, and it looks gorgeous, but I'm disappointed they didn't bring over the 3D movement function from Virtua Fighter 3/Fighters Megamix.
There's a lot more I can say about the Model 2 and 3, and I probably will say lots, but I want to have a good discussion about the games and the hardware, too.